Ancient Egyptian Towns

There were many different towns and cities in Ancient Egypt.  Many of these towns and cities were close to the Nile River because that is where food could grow and where animals and people could get water.

City

A city in Ancient Egypt usually had two ways to get in.  There would be a road that would go into the center of the city and then smaller roads would connect to the town so people could go back and forth.

Some of the cities had special meaning such as a political city.  A political city was usually where people that worked for the government would live.  These cities would usually be close to the capital city.

Some towns were used to hold temples.  These were towns that people would go to so that they could worship their gods or goddesses.  Some of these towns would have pyramids in them.

Houses

Most of the houses in Ancient Egypt were made of bricks that were made of mud.  Sometimes there would be floods and this would destroy the houses because they were not very sturdy and strong.

When a house was flooded, or if it fell down, most of the time the people would just build a new house right on top of it.

Important Cities

Some of the cities were more important than others and some of these included the capital cities.  The capital cities were where everyone would come to do their business, to talk to government officials and where the people that were in charge lived.

There were many different capital cities over time including Memphis, Alexandria, Amarna and Thebes.

Memphis

Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt in the years 2950 BC to the year 2180 BC.  Memphis is believed to be the biggest city in the world during this time.

Many temples and religious areas were located in Memphis when it was the capital.

Alexandria

Alexandria was the capital city of Ancient Egypt from the years 332 BC to the year 641 AD.  This became the capital city after Egypt was overtaken by the Greeks and especially by Alexander the Great.

During this time was the Ptolemy Dynasty and Alexandria was the capital for over 1000 years.

Alexandria is known for one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Amarna

Amarna was the capital city of Ancient Egypt when Pharaoh Akhenaten was in control of the city and when he made it a law to only worship one god, god Aten.  The city was built as an honor to Aten, but it was left after he died.

It was a big thing for the Egyptians to worship only one god and so this capital city is a very important piece of history.  It was before this time that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods at one time.

Thebes

Thebes is probably one of the most known Ancient Egyptian capitals and it was the capital from the year 2950 BC to 2180 BC.

Thebes was never the biggest city, but it was a place that was known for having many temples and many places to worship the gods.

Other Cities

There were other cities in Ancient Egypt that were known such as Eplephantine which was important because it was the center of trade.

Crocodilopolis was another known Ancient Egyptian town which was known because it was named for the god Sobek who was the crocodile god.

One of the biggest trade centers in Ancient Egypt was the city Kom Ombo.  It was a place where many people would travel so that they could trade things such as paper.

Facts About Ancient Egyptian Towns:

• Memphis remained the largest city even when Thebes became the new capital.
• In Memphis, Ptah, the god of craftsmen was worshipped. There was a temple there that honored him as their god.
• Alexandria had one of the largest libraries of the world.
• Tanis and Sais were also the capital cities of Ancient Egypt at some time.
• Kom Ombo was first called the city of Nubt because they thought that there was gold there.
• Hermopolis was a city that was a place where people would go to vacation. Ancient Egyptians believed that the first sunrise happened in this town.

What Did You Learn?

1. What was the biggest city that was the capital of Ancient Egypt?  Memphis was the biggest city that was the capital of Ancient Egypt and it even stayed the biggest city even after the capital was moved out of it.
2. How many entrances were there to get into a town? There were two ways to get into an Ancient Egyptian town.
3. What town was known for the crocodile god? The town of Crocodilopolis was known for the crocodile god.
4. What were most of the Ancient Egyptian houses made from? Most houses were made from bricks that were made out of mud.
5. Why was the location of most of the Ancient Egyptian cities important? The location was important because most of the cities were close to the Nile River.  The Nile River was a place where people could grow food and where animals and people could get water.